Sept. 17, 2006
Fullerton, Calif. - The Cal State Fullerton volleyball team earned their third pre-season tournament championship as they defeated San Diego State, 3-1 (30-23, 27-30, 31-29, 30-26), Saturday night at Titan Gym winning the 2006 Holiday Inn Buena Park Fullerton Classic.
The Titans continue to make history, improving to 11-1 on the season, continuing their best-ever start. With the victory, the Titans have now won six matches in a row since their only loss of the season to LMU. San Diego State falls to a game below .500 at 6-7.
Fullerton had three players accumulate 10-or-more kills led by sophomore Brittany Moore who blasted 14 on the night. SDSU's Audra Dent led all players with an 18-kill assault. Breanna Trudeau and Danielle Hitzeman each added 12 for the Titans.
In addition to her 12 kills, Hitzeman also tied for the game-high dig total. Following a 29 dig performance in the morning session, Hitzeman thwarted 24 Aztec attack attempts in the nightcap. The Vacaville native earned the tournament's MVP award for her efforts posting 31 kills, 67 digs, nine service aces and eight assists in 11 games.
Fullerton's Amanda Pfielschiefter had six blocks (2 solos) on the night to pace the field, while Dent led the Aztec squad with five blocks (1 solo).
Pfielschiefter and Moore also earned spots on the all-tournament team. The duo finished with 21 blocks between the two of them, seven of which were solos. Moore finished the tournament hitting a team-leading .344 with 40 total kills. Pfielschiefter hit .317 tallying 25 kills in the three matches.
The Titans hit just .138 for the match, but their defense made the difference, halting a powerful Aztec attack, holding them to just a .060 percentage over four games.
Monia Nihipali and Hitzeman both tallied three service aces apiece, as part of the Titans' eight total aces in the match. Melanie Greene had two of the three San Diego State un-returnable serves.
Fullerton finishes the 2006 preseason winning 33 of their 42 games, and a perfect 11-0 in tournament play. The Titans have never finished the preseason winning three tournaments. The 2004 was the last squad to rack up a pair of championships before the start of league play.
Cal State Fullerton will begin the Big West Conference schedule on the road as they will face Pacific and Cal State Northridge in week No. 1. On Sept. 21 the Titans will be in Stockton, Calif to open league play before playing in Northridge, Calif on Sept. 23. Both matches will begin at 7 p.m.
The Titans hve been picked by the Big West Conference coaching staffs to place fifth in league, the highest any Fullerton volleyball team has ranked in the preseason.
COMPLETE ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Jessica Turner, Lipscomb
Linda Zhang, Penn
Amie Cordeiro, San Diego State
Melanie Green, San Diego State
Amanda Pfielschiefter, Cal State Fullerton
Brittany Moore, Cal State Fullerton
MVPDanielle Hitzeman, Cal State Fullerton